Western Cape Government Disaster Centre Covid-19 Alert #3

For Immediate Release
1 December 2020

Some regions in the Western Cape will no longer allow public events which may lead to large numbers of people. Public facilities and venues in these regions are also no longer available to the public in ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, says at the moment the Garden Route has taken the decision to disallow all planned events in the regions until further notice.
“The region is seeing increases in covid-19 infections. In addition there is an expectation of large numbers of visitors over the next few weeks which further increases the risk of infection. This requires drastic action which we not afraid to take.”

The PDMC and its stakeholders are already enforcing existing disaster management regulations across the province with roadblocks, blitzes and unannounced visits to high risk areas to ensure compliance.

“Our work comes down to enforcing disaster management protocols to help slow down the spread of the virus in the Western Cape. We are doing enforcement with the resources at our disposal and in partnership with national SAPS, municipal law enforcement, the departments of labour and health, to name a few.”

Bredell says provincial disaster management was generally happy with the levels of compliance found on Black Friday and the ensuing weekend.

“There was a few incidents where problems were found but these were speedily addressed. We hope that similar compliance will follow in the weeks ahead,” says Bredell.

Some of the enforcement steps taken across the province to date include:

• Black Friday Blitzes, roadblocks and visible enforcement in high risk areas.
• George Municipality has closed all sports facilities and public venues.
• Kannaland municipality has followed suit and closed all facilities including town halls.
• All events in George has been cancelled and venues are unavailable for events.
• Taverns, fuel stations on major routes and mass transportation hubs will continue to be visited to ensure compliance.
• Municipal guidelines for camping facilities and venues where holidaymakers may find themselves is being formulated.

“The Covid Pandemic is not a sprint. It is a marathon. We are all in this marathon together and if we all work together, more of us will reach the end of this pandemic and certainly much sooner. If we don’t work together in the coming weeks, we may see the situation get increasingly worse.”

Members of the public, businesses and other organisations who wish to report violations of COVID-19 protocols can do so as follows:

> Using the online complaint form available here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-business-safety-complaint-form
> Dial *134*234# to report non-compliance of public transport
> For COVID-19 health related queries, the provincial COVID-19 toll-free hotline number is 080 928 4102
> For general queries, the Western Cape Government’s contact centre can be reached on 0860 142 142

ENDS.

Media enquiries:
James-Brent Styan
Spokesperson for the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell
Mobile: 084 583 1670
Telephone: 021 483 2820
E-mail: James-Brent.Styan@westerncape.gov.za